Known Issues with Blackboard and Related Tools
Due to its widespread use on AU’s campus and all over the country (many universities also use Blackboard), Blackboard is experiencing high volumes of users. This high volume is causing issues with some of the tools. We are currently working with Blackboard to resolve these issues to improve your experience. Some of the known issues are:
- Blackboard Collaborate is having trouble with the dial-in numbers. These are the numbers that instructors and students use when the internet connection is not as strong to be able to hear. We do not have an estimated time frame for when this will be fixed, but Blackboard has confirmed that they are working on it.
Kaltura Video Upload Times Are Long
Kaltura is seeing a huge increase in usage, and as such, users are experiencing slow upload times and are receiving error messages (i.e. API errors). We have been in communication with Kaltura, and they have confirmed that they are working on increasing capacity to reduce upload wait times. It is recommend, if possible, to upload videos in the morning or evenings when usage is lower.
Zoom and “Zoombombing”
American University has acquired a university-wide license for Zoom, another videoconferencing tool that is widely used. The Office of Information Technology manages the Zoom license and has instructions for how to set up and use Zoom.
Because it is so widely used, there are people who target the vulnerability and openness of the tool. Called “zoombombing”, outside individuals will access a Zoom room and will show inappropriate material. There are ways to prevent zoombombing. The Office of Information Technology has a comprehensive page about how to avoid unwanted visitors from entering your room. Some of the advice they give is:
- Keep your software up to date. Zoom will update its software to increase protections, so updating to the most recent version will help.
- Utilize the Waiting Room feature, which has been enabled by default for all AU Zoom accounts. It is recommended that you keep this feature on so that you can monitor who can enter your Zoom room.
- Schedule meetings. Each scheduled meeting has a unique URL/meeting identification information so only those you send it to can access it.
- To add more security to the scheduled meeting, you can add a password, disable file transfers from participants, and only allow registered Zoom users to enter.
- During your class meeting, there are sveral settings which allow you to avoid any disruptions. You can access these settings by clicking on Manage Participants. The settings include:
- Muting participants
- Prevent screensharing
- Rename a participant
- Lock the meeting to prevent new attendees
- Place participants in the waiting room/admit them to the room
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Contact Us
The Instructional Continuity Team is happy to help. You can contact us in three ways:
- Phone: 202-885-3904 (please leave a message if someone does not pick up)
- Zoom: Join a live session
- Email: Submit a help ticket
"Faculty Preparedness to Maintain Instructional Continuity" by American University's Center for Teaching, Research and Learning and E-Learning Support is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License .